Collectibles -> Tobacciana -> Cigar

Cigar bands have a rich history, or more accurately, several histories. They’ve been attributed to the Russian queen Catherine the Great, and 19th century England, among other places. One story says that Catherine the Great ordered that her cigars be wrapped in silk to protect her fingers from becoming stained, so that afterwards, rings made of silk were put on cigars to mimic the queen. But even if she had smoked cigars (which there’s no evidence of) and had ordered silk wrappings, that probably wouldn’t have given birth to cigar bands on cigars made in faraway Cuba.

Another version says that in the 1800s, English ladies worried about soiling their white gloves while smoking cigars so they were wrapped with cigar bands allowing them to hold their stogies without staining their hands. And while apparently Spanish cigars from that era actually could stain your fingers, thanks to a chicory-shaded gum that wrapped them, dark wrappers were out of vogue by the middle of the century anyway.

And another version of the origin of cigar bands said they were designed to hold poorly rolled cigars together. Yet, cigar bands were supposed to in no way constrict the cigar. Cigar rolling in Cuba is an art form, with each cigar shaped, packed and rolled by hand. A band to hold it together is unnecessary, and a tight band would alter the density of the cigar, ruining the handwork by the masters. Also, Cuban cigars should have the bands removed before smoking, dispelling this theory.

As the finest cigars in the world have always come from Cuba, their version is more likely to be accurate. Gustave Bock ordered paper rings bearing his signature to be placed on every exported cigar. Banding was common by the middle of the 19th century. The band on a cigar became a badge of honor—people wanted to smoke cigars with cigar bands that bore certain brand names. With the popularity of cigar smoking in Americe, US makers upped production and bands were considered an unnecessary expense. By by the turn of the century, 80% of men in America smoked cigars, and cigar bands became a selling point for certain brands of cigars. Even cheap cigars bore colorful bands as part of their appeal to the consumer.

Cigar bands became throwaway items that people started clamoring to collect, much like matchbooks and bottlecaps. New band styles would sell out quickly, and albums for their collection were handed out by store owners and tobacconists. Then, similar to how green stamps worked, consumers could collect cigar bands and turn them in for other items household items like silverware, bedroom sets, footballs or magazine subscriptions. You could even combine them with tin tags from snuff and coupons from cigarettes.

The cigar bands most in demand are from this era and before. You can usually find vintage lots of cigar bands in online auctions for little money, though some of the more rare brands and designs command higher prices.

Originally posted 2008-10-19 05:00:35. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

• Personalized Shot Glasses Collectibles -> Barware -> Shot Glasses For the person who has everything, personalized gifts can be some of the most thoughtful, so why not choose personalized shot glasses? There are many advantages to this type of collectible item, both as a gift, and as something you collect yourself. Personalized shot......
• Bakelite Collectibles -> Vintage-Retro-Mid-Century -> Bakelite Most of us have heard the term Bakelite, even if we’re not entirely sure what it means. When we think of Bakelite we often think of plastic, as they seem to go hand in hand. But Bakelite is a type of plastic, most often used......
• Caring for Doll Collectibles The term collectible refers to just about anything that you can imagine, as long as it is something that can be collected, and something that holds value to someone, somewhere. For example, many people enjoy doll collectibles, so much so that doll collectibles are some of the most popular collectibles......
• Doll and Barbie Collectibles There is a great deal of variety out there when it comes to collecting dolls, such as Barbie collectibles for example. There are dolls that are designed to be toys, and here are dolls that are designed to be collectibles, and Barbie dolls are no exception to the rule because......
• Collecting Rare Collectibles 101 There are all kinds of different collectibles out there, including rare collectibles and more common collectibles for example. If you are interested in collecting rare collectibles, then knowing how to identify them, find them, price them, display them and sell them are all very important considerations to make. Here is......

• Cuba Stamps Stamps -> WorldWide The first Cuba stamps were made available in April of 1855, 15 years after the first postage stamps were printed in Great Britain. Before the advent of the postage stamp in Cuba, letters were often delivered to the addressee requiring him or her to pay the postage.......
• Must Have Supplies for Collecting Paper Money Currency Collecting is a great way to pass the time no matter what it is that you are interested in. If you are into history at all, there are hobbies like paper money collecting which will allow you to do something which is both fun and potentially profitable. Of course, in......
• Collecting Autographed Sport Memorabilia Are you thinking about collecting autographed sport memorabilia? If you are interested in creating a sports collection of some kind, one of the options that is available to you is collecting autographed sport memorabilia. If you want to add autographed collectibles to your own personal collection, what you may like......
• How to Get Started with Collecting Paper Money Often, there are two different kinds of collectors. There are those that collect paper money as well as those that collect coins. There are a few that collect both, but these are rare. The most common currency collector collects coins. This is because there are far more coins to collect......
• How to Start Collecting Rare Coins The world of rares coins can be fun and interesting. Coins can be a look into the past history of the society in which it was used and they can also be used preserve the legacies being made now. Each coin tells a story which makes collecting them great for......

• Golds Gym Resistance Bands Fitness Equipment Gym, Workout & Yoga Exercise & Fitness
• Fitz & Floyd Decorative Collectible Brands Decorative Collectibles Collectibles
• People Real Photo Postcards Collectibles
• Medals, Pins, Ribbons Germany Original Period Items WW II (1939-45) Militaria Collectibles
• Personal Gear United States Original Period Items WW II (1939-45) Militaria Collectibles